Michael Larson Also Did The First Internet Fraud

Almost everyone gets this story wrong. Michael's tale is not a cheeky, scheming success story... but a tragic tale of addiction. Here's why.
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An Ohio conman exploits Press Your Luck for the largest single-day haul in game show history. That's only the beginning of his strange, sad story.
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Brian Brushwood - narrator and writer
  / shwood
Justin Robert Young - writer
/ justinryoung
Rachel Oppenheimer - fact-checker
Brandt Hughes - editor
  / gatowag - / emergentbeacon
John Rael - producer / editor
  / skepticallypwnd
Annaliese Martin - research / copy editor
  / amuseliese
Heather Tayte - graphics
  / burlesquebaker
Jeff McLaughlin - research
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Eli Carll - research
  / themagickid512

[@Mediarch]

When I was a kid I made an incredible discovery. There was a specific popcorn game at Chuck-E-Cheese. You had a little bucket and you had to catch as many ping pong balls as you could. If you put a dime in the machine it would activate the game. The thing is it wouldn't keep your dime. With a single dime you could play the game until it ran out of tickets. I felt like a genius. I drained that pop corn game of all it's tickets multiple times. I've never told a soul until right now. That must be how Michael Larson felt.

[@ColonelSandersLite]

OMG. Corn Pop, is that you?

[@JD2jr.]

Oh man, that reminds me of finding a soda machine that would give you your money back **and** a soda if you timed your button presses right. Now that I know a lot of those machines are owned by individuals I feel a bit bad, but I was just a kid at the time and I didn't go infinite or anything...

[@ObservantPiratePlus]

I remember at work we once had a cigarette machine that started to not just give you your hardpack, but would often just dump the coin tray like a one-armed bandit. We used to call it "Ciga-Lotto". lol When the guy came to stock the machine, and take away the coins (that were not there), boy, was he pissed!!

[@sumduma55]

@Geff Joldblum I had a quarter get stuck in a pinball machine. I tried to free it by jamming a plastic butter knife into the slot. I couldn't free the quarter but it started racking up credits. Turns out the quarter follows a track so you cannot do this but the track was worn causing several quarters to jam. Anyways, for almost a month we played free pinball any time we wanted. They they collected the money and fixed it.

[@nikshipley7833]

I discovered in the mid 2000’s that underneath the ticket counting machine at chuck-e-cheese there was always a large amount of shredded tickets on the floor, presumably from when they would empty the shredder. Well, if you inserted a ticket that was only 1/4th it’s original size or bigger - it would count it as a whole ticket. I would gather all the ticket scraps I could just before cashing in my tickets and end up with 200+ extra every time.

[@DeviantOllam]

I have loved this story since the first time I ever read about the affair. But this telling of it is like none other. 😁👍

[@freakychick1978]

I never realized how much I wish you did audiobook recordings until I binged the last WGC. Now if you and Jason could team up to read Killer Candy for my visually impaired self that would be awesome!

[@knghtbrd]

Brian could absolutely be a world-class narrator! I've heard a lot of them in my time. Some of the best and the worst. Commercial, for NLS or RFB&D, and for stuff like LibriVox. Brian Brushwood would be one of the best!

[@bigtoelittlefinger6133]

Quality intit

[@falfires]

Please don't exclude "World's Greatest Con" from the title. I wouldn't watch this if I didn't know this was the next episode of WGC.

[@JD2jr.]

Yes, I almost missed it. I lucked out by not looking at the length first. If I had known it was this long but didn't know it was WGC, I would have passed.

[@Ozai75]

Brilliantly done, Brian. And yes, this is a tragedy. To me, it's so much the same as Actors who go from superstardom to drug use. Trying to chase that high of performing, trying to find another high to replace it once it's gone. So incredibly tragic.

[@axc1213]

At Least you didn't call them "junkies"...

[@diggysoze2897]

Tragic?… TRAGIC!?… Fuck tragic, your perspective on humanity is fucking gross. Junkies are the most self-important people in the world, fuck junkies. You’re the problem

[@tomansbro2101]

The visuals are so expertly done. They add just enough support to the story without feeling like they change the format

[@StephenFasciani]

Brandt is an amazing producer. I want no one else for the Modern Rogue.

[@tomhibbs605]

Dude. Seriously. This is one of the best ever ever episodes on this channel (and I'm a long time sub). I host live trivia 2-3x/week in New Orleans and I have a saying I use in the warm up: "Don't try to Michael Larson me tonight because I will catch you and zero out your scores". Keep the videos coming. Love you dudes!

[@jasonjuneau]

Also from New Orleans, where do you hold trivia?

[@tomhibbs605]

@@jasonjuneau Mondays/8p Jockey's in Fairgrounds, Wed/6p Felix's in West End, Thurs/6:30 Faubourg Brewery in East.

[@negative12]

Loving the accompanying visuals. Very clean and efficient. Doesn't distract or otherwise take away from what's being said, but they don't feel so important that they make me feel like I'd be missing out by listening while working on something else. Big fan of the new found watchablility for this one, and WGC overall.

[@freakychick1978]

I find myself listening even closer and my dad laughs at me because now I know what he meant when he says the family would "watch" the radio.😂😂😂😂

[@UserNotReady]

This is the best presentation of this story that I've watched on youtube. Even though I already knew what happened, I still couldn't stop watching. Well done!

[@nanmuncher]

I am speechless... that was the best thing I have ever witnessed. Thank you.

[@saumitrashukla591]

please keep these seasons coming, these are a class apart

[@scrawneyclimber]

I legit cannot believe this was not made for the visuals. John and Brandt great job.

[@skepticallypwnd]

Thanks! It was a beast to reverse engineer all the audio sources that Justin Robert Young included in his mix, and I'm very grateful I had Brandt to make some kickass graphics.

[@CK-ceekay]

Wish this had come out before I'd already listened to the episode. This looks like the preferred way to experience it

[@Drayle88]

I've finished season 2, and I loved every moment of it. Listened to it during my road trip, and I LOVE the story telling and the bge. I hope there is a season 3. Keep up the good work dudes.

[@JustinRobertYoung]

working on it now

[@BeeCeeJay]

Brilliantly done, kudos to the whole team. I'm so glad you mentioned the gambler's fallacy in there, because I was immediately reminded of when I first turned 18, bought a lottery ticket, and came one number away from hitting the jackpot. Even though I didn't win the big one, I got a big enough prize that I was hooked. Then it became scratch off lottery tickets, hit big on one of those, and it was all downhill from there. Within six months I was broke and literally stealing food. Addictions ruin lives, no matter the type.

[@ryanc473]

That's a great cautionary tale to anyone that thinks they figured out a way to game the system. It's not impossible to do, but odds are you aren't the one doing it. And the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be.

[@knghtbrd]

Holy shit Brian, this dude was the real deal, and the way you tell it, I'm cheering for the con man. A masterful performance telling us the story of a master in his craft. I'm impressed with both of you.

[@chrislove7708]

Literally the only podcast I actually listen to and the additional visuals are a plus. They aren't imperative to the story so I can still kick back and listen but at the same time they provide a perfect level of engagement for when I desire so. Hope to see them continue. Inspiring work as always brian

[@princegoatcheese9379]

By your brief synopsis of the next episode, I'm already excited because I only know half the story. Amazing work and production! I love it!

[@jeopardy60611]

I saw the Press Your Luck episodes when they originally aired in 1984, and I saw the GSN documentary in 2003. I was never aware of all the shady deals Michael Larson got involved in.

[@stevegideon5419]

“…sit around and wait for things.” Took me right back to Austin, 1965.

[@vlazlo]

I enjoy the visuals. It really helps me paint the story from your mind and pulls me into story further. I never head about this story but you got me hooked and wanting to find out more.

[@TonyMendyk]

Great job telling this story! The podcast is fantastic. Proud Patreon member here!! Keep up the great work!

[@frankearl9285]

This is really good. Esp. the touch about having it "play" out of an old-school TV/VCR combo. Took me 7 minutes to realize I'd gone WELL past your asked for 2 minutes before pausing and giving you the requested feedback, Brian. Says volumes, considering the ADHD nature I have.

[@noahvanwill]

Notification got messed up for me but goodness gracious this show is amazing! I can’t wait for season 3!

[@FusionDeveloper]

I loved this story. I've heard it before, but it never gets old and I enjoy it being told by Brian Brushwood. The story is legendary.

[@devikwolf]

Oh man, I've heard about this story before, but Shwood's narration and delivery just elevates this weird tale to another level! Looking forward to even more!

[@estebanpa7923]

I already knew the story but the narration and details are excellent, thank you please make more productions like this

[@jackwriter1908]

I heard through all of the Episodes through Spotify and now I watch it just so that I can see the faces of these people 😂 Great Series by the way. I hope you guys will keep doing this.

[@big.cofficial7963]

I second this. We need a Season 3 now. 🤣🤣

[@jackwriter1908]

@@big.cofficial7963 I hope that it will be about _Frank Abagnale_ that guy was incredible and they could probably get him on the show to talk about it. Just imagine one of the best con-man that we know of talking about his work in the Podcast _Worlds Greatest Con._

[@big.cofficial7963]

@@jackwriter1908 That would be amazing to see. Who knows. I wonder how long g it takes them to get another season going. I know its recorded in advance but Im curious. Heck, even the cons I have done are not as good as these....meaning what I've followed from Brians work. 🤣🤣🤣

[@jackwriter1908]

@@big.cofficial7963 😂 I mean are they really cons or just good hidden magic tricks? How is it using the tricks he shows? I was never confident enough or even remembered enough to go through one of these tricks.

[@big.cofficial7963]

@@jackwriter1908 I take it day by day and step by step to actually perfect it infront of friends, family, etc. Now this was a teaching moment for a store by my place that kept getting robbed. You would hear it all the time on the news and I went in and proved to them a way how they might have been getting robbed and they were dumbfounded. It's a thing of nature that if you don't think about how the trick/con is being played out, you win every time. I can take back money that someone hands me and count it out myself in front of them(it's the exact change) but I count it a way that looks like I was given less then what I should have been given. No holds. No steals. No nothing like that. The money is all there in front front of them. It's very deceitful and scary and cool all at the same time. Day by day you practice. The courage will come to you once you know you are fooled by your own works. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻😁😁

[@topazphoenix6301]

I really like these pod cast videos, hope you keep posting them on KZbin! ^_^

[@sillynapalm]

Heard this in podcast form and now I shall watch this again in glorious 4K. Thanks for the amazing content, you guys.

[@edwardheller7840]

One of my favorite series I've followed Brian all the way from his twit days and every incarnation since I've been opened up to so many excellent programs and people this program lives up and exceeds my expectations thank you for all you do and will do going forwards

[@DougTurley]

Awesome job. It's the little touches that really make it all work so work.

[@dog4kayak]

Listened to the podcast and loved this episode. However the visual treatment makes this come to life in a new way. Thanks for putting this together!

[@shakerson]

Michael is seriously brilliant and your enthusiasm for this story really shines through.

[@cavalry1213]

Having this story told by Mr. Brian Brushwood is now my favorite thing in the world.

[@olive7831]

I got that feeling when i saw £2500 gaming monitors listed at £250. Not too soon after buying i was sent a refund and a kindly worded email saying it was a mistake. Someday i will get that feeling again...

[@terobb0]

Great video. First became aware of this maybe 10 years ago when the Game Show Network ran a documentary. Can’t help but admire the guy a bit…and hearing the host wonder if he’s going to bankrupt the network is such a great moment.

[@jonathoncastro6858]

Dang this was so informative and entertaining. I just kept watching it until the end. Great job In video work, was very engaging and drew me in. Awesome storytelling, the appropriate amount of energy at the right times. And the sound department, you guys did it right kept the narrator at right amount of volume and other sounds effects as that. Sound effects, enhancing this video experience. Great job guys and gals. My hat off to you all for bring this story to us in a very entertaining manner.

[@B-Swift]

Wow! I love the audio version but this is a whole different experience. Great work!

[@KDAYDIN]

This show has fantastic storytelling. I came to check it out for a few minutes but ended up staying for the duration. Wonderful story! Great narrative!

[@natsukeru]

I wish all episodes could be like this

[@runfromnuke]

Incredible presentation to compliment existing story! Great job!

[@sbcinema]

He made a mistake with the one-dollar bills, I would have done it by entering the numbers into a computer and then pacing them to individual packages of one hundred bills, each of the packages would then have had a number written on it. not only would that have saved him the hassle of having to look through the bills every time, but he could have kept them in a safe deposit box...

[@JD2jr.]

I don't remember when he said the contest was. Was that possible yet? It was my first thought, too.

[@sbcinema]

@@JD2jr. it was in the 80s so it was definitely possible (even a home computer like the Commodore would have been enough for that)

[@jon111mauck]

this was amazing I hope you keep doing episodes like this or even start a channel dedicated to these types of videos.

[@lognload]

That was incredible, got your email to check it out and immediately listened to the whole thing. Maybe ordered some geologie too..

[@thomast6741]

Truly Awesome! I'm glad I subscribed a long time ago!

[@Striker9]

Man wish I had the confidence of someone like that. I love these, keep up the amazing work !!

[@damionlee7658]

I've heard the Larson story a few times, and this is definitely my favourite telling of it so far. Brian's voice and cadence is so easy to listen to. I agree with another comment I read, it would be great if Brian decides to voice audio books in the future. Looking *Cough* Forward *Cough, cough* to the next episode. *Cough*

[@magic_opi]

Very informative story, brilliantly told. Keep it up, Brian!

[@ChrisCrond]

I really love the addition of visual aids! It Helps keeps my ADD at bay so I can enjoy these fantastic videos! WGC is becoming one of my new favourite shows! Brian's real magic power is storytelling! ... Just nit-pick: normalize the audio a bit more. Having your voice boosted makes sense in audio-only format but feels a little off with it becoming a more video show! Again, not complaining because everything else about this is just perfection!

[@A-Doug]

If Larson would have input all his dollar bills serial numbers into a spreadsheet he could have left all his money in a vault and quickly did a search everyday and save the stress of looking through $50k daily.

[@JD2jr.]

I thought the same thing, but I don't know what a "spreadsheet" meant to him when that was happening. Would it have just been a giant Charlie Day-esque bulletin board with yarn on his wall? Stacks of books? Was Excel a functional program already?

[@thallan]

@@JD2jr. drawing a fucking spreadsheet by hand would be preferable tbh

[@PFab]

Thanks for the email Brian. Watching now. Exciting

[@andrews4321]

That is some masterful storytelling. Brian did an excellent job delivering this episode.

[@IdahoJudd]

absolutely awesome episode!

[@NotADoctor558]

This isn't the content I subscribed for! REEEEEEEE! Honestly I was so enthralled by this story I didn't even realize almost an hour had passed. Definitely going to give this podcast a listen on my way into work tomorrow.

[@jcorpac]

That radio show bit sounds like it could be a half-decent scam if they were reading the "random" winning numbers off of a $1 bill in the studio.

[@walkman1269]

Great show!!! Graphics are awesome!!

[@ObservantPiratePlus]

Awesome video, Senor Rogue!

[@jamesmccann8506]

What a great story! Great job at telling it guys!

[@postacorona6746]

I like the visuals, they add to it if you’re watching but they’re not so required that if you’re just listening it’s no big deal.

[@ElNeroDiablo]

Hot *damn* I love this rendition of the story! Sure, I've watched others recount what went on, how he did it, and even replicate the setup of the gameshow and bring back the other two guests from that day's filming. But *damn* this recount was really damn engrossing and I could barely turn away from it until it was over!

[@MinecraftMaker]

I really dig the angle you found on this story.

[@zachfletcher9900]

Great video, story telling was bang on too

[@darkmisti]

this is so good keep em coming

[@MrSmileyfacekilla]

This is like the cool highschool teacher rolling the tv cart in the room and putting a actual interesting tape in

[@stphinkle]

I think what Michael Larson did on Press Your Luck was 100% Legal because of the following: * How did Michael find the Light Patterns and Whammy Locations? Frame by Frame Analysis of recording the show on a VCR. Time shifting of shows for non-commercial uses was ruled legal and fair use by the famous Supreme Court Case in 1984, Sony Corp of America v Universal City Studios v Universal City Studios. * The light patterns and where the whammies were on the board did not violate any confidentiality agreements. After all, they were broadcast in the 29.97 frames per second that CBS broadcast in the other episodes. * Michael Larson was an eligible contestant on the show. * Michael Larson did not violate any rules of the game. * When a player takes a spin they decide (within a reasonable length of time) at what moment to push the button and Press Their Luck. The board stops applying a certain amount of latency on the light it is on in the pattern when the button is pressed. If the contestant is lucky, they will get money or a prize. Stop on the wrong screen, the player will hit a Whammy and then lose all their money and prizes. It was up to Michael Larson to decide what moment to press the button to stop the board. * The main design faults that Michael Larson explloited were CBS's. They decided to go with only six light patterns and they ran the same patterns over and over. They also designed the board with two squares that has no whammies in them and in round 2 those were the ones that gave extra spins. This is what allowed Michael Larson to win. I fault CBS for Larson's Success.

[@seanu5794]

A/C mechanic? NOW we know who left the cat toy in the furnace!

[@shawnstewart7307]

I missed the audio recorder/player to be honest hahahaha but i get why you went for a retro bubble style tv it suits this episode perfectly! ❤

[@gabeflame7803]

Damn good job on production!

[@KirbicCreates]

Loved the video, Brian! Tragic story but in some more light-hearted news that song I commented about a few days ago (We Made A Stabby Person) is still being worked on! Just having quite a time finding the right sound clips to slip in there😂 I'm thinking the infamous "Nord Scream" is a MUST. Coming soon! Keep up the killer content, boys 😎

[@skepticallypwnd]

I honestly assumed our VFX peeps would be eager to try and figure out fake vs real CRT moments. 🤷‍♀️ - Modern Rogue Post-production Supervisor

[@jasonmollett5308]

I found about this podcast because of your appearance on the CISO Series.

[@TopSpot123]

Hell of a script you guys have written. So good!

[@000Krim]

Great story and production

[@ryanc473]

Looking through the bills for a matching serial number would be so much easier nowadays. Just enter every one of the serial numbers into a database on a computer (yeah, this first step would be awful), then simply search the database every day. If it comes up with a winning number match, look through your collection until you find the match (or better yet, just catalog each bill on sequence in a binder, from 1 to 50,000. Make sure the page number is also on the computer database, and simply flip to the relevant page if you win)

[@HeatherTiffanyZack]

aw... I'm your favorite listener 🥺 I think I have adhd, so I really can't afford to hop doctors or therapists if no one will listen... and despite there being online things, it's still not cheap. And 2 minutes? now you got me before two, as this is interesting.

[@nickfuller20]

This guy was 35 years old on this episode. Born in 1949, the show was in 1984. He looks like he is 55 years old!

[@ModernRogue]

whoa!

[@problemdude390]

Absolutely strong visuals in the first 2mins to accompany this story :)

[@baylego]

Absolutely kino video! Good work everyone

[@chaddavis1]

That was awesome, thank you.

[@IBurnThings90]

The Emerson really ties the vibe together.

[@skepticallypwnd]

HA The TV. I was like "when did I include Ralph Waldo"? - Modern Rogue Post Production Supervisor

[@joshzytkiewicz]

This was outstanding.

[@keepitreal8998]

Love this episode

[@problemwithauthority]

Loved the story and presentation was very good. Watch audio mix levels (music over powered narration at times).

[@S.Hydra9]

Nice work

[@davidr1050]

Speaking of Chuck E. Cheese, it took me no time at all to figure out the keys were generic.. So buying a key from lets say Williams Defender, opened ALL the Defender video game cabinets and sending away for a replacement key wasn't hard, long, or expensive.. So I'd pick out some favorite games, have Williams send me a replacement key, and it was quick to pop the front door open, click the coin drop lever a half dozen times, and close the door.

[@DavidAStubbs]

Awesome...really awesome. Quick questions: -Did "who wants to be a millionare" give prizes out at 1 million dollars? - Rolling 45 times at a craps table without rolling a 7 is not a statistical impossibility. The Wizard of Odds website calculates the probability of it happening is 0.00024811. There are a small number of times this has happened before - the difference is that there are thusands of craps games happening all of the time, and this game show happened once a day.

[@ModernRogue]

Millionaire's designed to be a 2-day thing. This is the largest earnings where a butt hit a seat, a tv game show was played, and then the butt got up from the seat.

[@DavidAStubbs]

@@ModernRogue Thanks for all of that butt info!

[@RReese08]

The 1995 timeframe for Michael Larson's last big con kinda rings a bell for me. Because at the time I knew somebody who was constantly hustling - mostly low-grade cons - until they came up with a "$100,000 raffle prize" that he wanted to promote through a magazine that he worked for (the guy was actually the magazine's ad salesman). And he spent a few weeks on the phone trying to round up sponsors who'd put up "$10,000 each that would be held in escrow" as he promised, until the "big contest" at the end of the year. For whatever reason, he couldn't get any suckers to take the bait and the "big contest" never happened. *Coincidentally enough,* the guy had bought a fancy house in Los Angeles with zero down payment, which was a very popular thing at the time. The catch was that there was a big balloon payment due after a few years - which happened to be around the end of 1995. It was an attempt to shuffle money from one hand into the other so the guy could keep his fancy house. But because he couldn't raise any money, he lost his property to the bank. He still had his job, so he never stopped trying to scam people until the magazine went out of business. He tried publishing a magazine on his own until that went under after a few years. Now he supposedly hangs out at a shopping mall near LA, passing time with whatever he probably has left in his bank account. There aren't any pension funds or retirement homes for conmen, just empty days while they wait to take that big sleep. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy got one of those faxes from Larson and decided it was too good a scam to pass up and turn it into something that he could pull off himself. Very well done podcast. It's great.

[@medivalone]

Brian's voice is a little bass-y. It's probably a combination of the compression plus the recording setup but it's a little exhausting after a while. maybe a bit of a low cut (NPR-style) will give a better listening experience on full-range systems.

[@brettlawton9513]

45:37 Wtfff Michael Larsen was a F-ing legend and the GOAT of making something out of absolutely nothing 🙏🏻🙏🏻 RIP Michael "no whammy's" Larsen!!!

[@quintonmccort7512]

Great job with the visuals they add to it but aren’t distracting

[@victorcast2467]

amazing storytelling

[@gavinhelgeson2880]

This is awesome, +45 mins 🔥

[@XDrSinusX]

i love that the intro is like some kind of gangster movie

[@LokiDeth]

I'm still waiting on the movie announcement from the latest episode :)

[@captainpanda5533]

'Your face is your money maker.' Well, no wonder I have such trouble finding a better job.

[@calebcroney4848]

I couldn't just stay for the first few minutes. The visuals were great and a great story to go with it!

[@gicueN17R0]

These should be renamed.... "The NEW fireside chats...with Brian Bushwood...."

[@gicueN17R0]

Looks like the reel to reel kicked the bucket 🪣! Nice green screen hand doing the "mans" fixing method. The modern rogue method, smack the stuff out of it! Lol. The TV is nice. But there WAS something calming and peaceful with the R2R that focused you to sort of listen a bit more to your voice than watch and listen. Not that it takes away from it. Neat change. Don't get sick or alter your voice & storytelling! THAT is where your money is here. Wait. Are you conning me by doing this? 😂

[@ModernRogue]

we're about to release season 3 TONIGHT! And it's a big one.

[@gicueN17R0]

@@ModernRogue I am so excited! I think I got ahead of myself last night. Looking for it everywhere! Haha. I know everyone's dying for Frank. A. and a possible guest. I personally don't mind what you talk about. I've never found a storyteller I've personally enjoyed more, Brian. So thanks to you and the team(s) for putting it together. Don't want this ride to stop! Appreciate you and your work 💯 🙌.

[@route2070]

Great story telling of a good story, with good graphics. Dare I say these graphics are a bit Jon Bois esk.... Which is indeed praise. They also add to the story.

[@CrackedT00th]

Fun fact Roges, the Dave and Buster's press your luck machine works the same way, the submarine shooting game is super easy too. No better way to impress your date then with that big ticket item. Just stop before the last round, it moves faster and is a lot harder. 20 or 30 bucks should get you anything in their gift shop. Unless they've changed the payout. Remember to always do the math dudes.